Telescoping conveyors are conventionally used to convey items such as containers of product in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and other locations. Typically, a warehouse floor has a fixed conveyor distribution system that conveys containers within the warehouse. The warehouse typically has docking stations that trucks can access to load or unload containers. Several docking stations are typically located adjacent to one another along at least one edge of the warehouse floor. The fixed conveyor distribution system and the docking station are typically separated from one another by a distance. The distance is usually too great to manually transport containers across. A telescoping conveyor can be used to convey containers to and from the fixed conveyor distribution system within the warehouse and the truck parked at the docking station. Telescoping conveyor use is not limited to warehouses that service trucks, but can include any situation where items need to be conveyed from one place to another.
It is sometimes desirable to move the conveyor to accommodate the truck's location and to direct the stream of containers to particular portions inside the truck being filled. Conveyors are typically very heavy and difficult to move, however, and workers can experience overexertion, strain, or injury as a result of improper efforts to move the conveyor. In some conveyors, a motor or other power unit can be employed to assist the workers in telescoping the sections of the conveyor, and in some embodiments a steering assembly can be employed to help direct the location of the conveyor.
Telescoping conveyors in the prior art are disclosed in, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,308 to Parks et al., which discloses a telescoping conveyor with a single wheel-steering axis and a power module located at an infeed section of the conveyor. Because the power module in the U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,308 is located at the infeed section, the conveyor has decreased traction and cannot adequately overcome ramps or lowered gates that typically extend from the rear of a truck. Also, the steering assembly has the disadvantage of a limited turning radius, which presents an opportunity for the conveyor to tip over. The conveyor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,416 to Bonnet also has a steering assembly with a single wheel-turning axis with the same disadvantages as are present in U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,308 to Parks et al.